How many miles do you change your oil?

[Boston Bill]

Agreed- I should've worded that differently: It makes more sense to me why people running conventional oil do shorter intervals (especially for those that are stuck in the "old-timers" frame of mind) when it comes to oil changes. I ran a parts store for about 4 years, and there are die hards that lose their mind if they push an odometer over 3K between oil changes. I personally haven't run conventional oil in a very long time, with the exception of the small block chevy motor in my 66 GMC. The only reason for that was that it had a lot of issues when I bought it (leaks, compression, low oil pressure, blah blah blah), and if I'm gonna piss money away on oil, it'll be cheap conventional oil. Just finishing up assembly on the new motor now, and it will go fully synthetic after break in.

A crazy side note- my grandfather (he's 82) is a mechanic by trade, has turned wrenches for decades, and still does to this day. He's never bought ANYTHING new, especially cars. When I was a teenager with my first car, I could call him over the phone and he could damn near pin point my problem from states away. Obviously knows his stuff. He and I were talking recently and he told me that he hasn't done an oil change on any of his vehicles in decades, and has never once had an issue. I was shocked. He runs his cars and trucks 300K+ miles, and says oil changes are the biggest scam in the auto industry, once a motor is broken in, lol. I'm not adopting his ways, and he sure as hell ain't changing them at 82.

Respectfully. I was a service advisor. Every once in awhile some one smarter than me wouldn't change their oil. After 30k or 40k they would be towed in with engine problems. Guess what, sludge in the crankcase. Can't remember but probably ended up replacing the engine.

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[cuellar13]

Respectfully. I was a service advisor. Every once in awhile some one smarter than me wouldn't change their oil. After 30k or 40k they would be towed in with engine problems. Guess what, sludge in the crankcase. Can't remember but probably ended up replacing the engine.

I get it, and don't doubt it- Having managed an independent shop, managed parts stores, etc. myself, I'd never recommend not changing your oil. BUT my grandad swears by it, lol, and it's very coincidental that we just had a very similar conversation in recent week. Again, he's 82, so I'm not gonna be the one to try to change his mind- just thought other forum members may have a jaw drop reaction like I did.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Respectfully. I was a service advisor. Every once in awhile some one smarter than me wouldn't change their oil. After 30k or 40k they would be towed in with engine problems. Guess what, sludge in the crankcase. Can't remember but probably ended up replacing the engine.

Opinion - do you think maybe the prior owner should have changed the oil just a little bit more often?

Even the bullet-proof 4.0 can be killed by the right (or wrong) person........

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I get it, and don't doubt it- Having managed an independent shop, managed parts stores, etc. myself, I'd never recommend not changing your oil. BUT my grandad swears by it, lol, and it's very coincidental that we just had a very similar conversation in recent week. Again, he's 82, so I'm not gonna be the one to try to change his mind- just thought other forum members may have a jaw drop reaction like I did.

I was a manager at On With Life, wore many hats. The boss suggested I have some "lunch and learn" safety meetings for staff. I called the local fire department, they did their thing, and some other people and organizations - among them, Iowa Highway Patrol. The trooper talked about highway safety, what to do if stranded with a deaf vehicle along the road and such. He relayed some of his personal experiences while on the job.
He came upon a car on the shoulder, hood up, driver sitting in the seat.
The trooper pulled up and got out and asked the guy what was wrong. He said it was losing power and just suddenly died and he can't get it to start.
So the trooper went and checked under the hood - checked for the usual signs, belts, hoses, fuel - gauge indicated plenty of fuel. He pulled the dipstick.......... wiped it, put it back and pulled it out again. Same results - dry.
Trooper goes back and looks at the odo - something like 35,000 miles.
He asked the driver when he last had his oil changed.
Oh, I don't have to do that, this is a leased car.

Obviously, he not only figured it didn't need oil changes, being a leased car, but that also means you don't need to check any fluids.

That would make a nice addition to Honest John's Used Cars.

 

[yoda13]

I change mine when the Jeep tells me too…

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Now things are getting strange - Jeeps talking to drivers.

 

[yoda13]

Now things are getting strange - Jeeps talking to drivers.

I did word that rather oddly

 

[NC_Overland]

I did my first one early. Probably unnecessary, but I’m old school like that. The rest I’ve done by the oil monitor. My last one was all hwy miles, but it hit almost 10k miles. I was kinda shocked. I’m not sure what the dealership used, but I did my first one last time because I couldn’t get to the dealership and had a road trip planned and I ran full synthetic and will continue to do so. It’s the easiest oil change on any vehicle I’ve owned.

 

[NC_Overland]

Opinion - do you think maybe the prior owner should have changed the oil just a little bit more often?

Even the bullet-proof 4.0 can be killed by the right (or wrong) person........

Lol. bullet proof. That piece of shit grenaded on me in my XJ when it was new and never abused and I was young and dumb and changed the oil every 3k miles back then. Good engine design, shit Chrysler quality control in the late 90s. Only engine failure I ever had. I put 350k miles on a GM 2.8l V6 and those were supposed to be junk.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I've had a few 4.0 equipped vehicles - never a problem. There's the possibility of failure in anything. They didn't earn the reputation of bullet-proof for no reason.
It's a game of odds, sometimes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
Maybe my time is coming, never lost an engine (that wasn't already lost before I got it.)

 

[Blackjeepjk]

I used to religiously change at 5k mi. From the 80 to 2015. It was just an easy way to keep up with when to change oil and rotate tires. Didn’t need to log it, write it down or try to guess, 5,10,15,20, easy peasy.
since then I use the vehicle % gauge, change around 10-15% and record on Uconnect or Toyota app.
still easy and most nowadays frown if you try to show them printed literature. (I don’t think they can read without the aid of backlit screen)
Insert Progressive commercial on being your parents “you don’t have to print the internet”

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I used to religiously change at 5k mi. From the 80 to 2015. It was just an easy way to keep up with when to change oil and rotate tires. Didn’t need to log it, write it down or try to guess, 5,10,15,20, easy peasy.

Makes total sense.

 

[NC_Overland]

I've had a few 4.0 equipped vehicles - never a problem. There's the possibility of failure in anything. They didn't earn the reputation of bullet-proof for no reason.
It's a game of odds, sometimes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
Maybe my time is coming, never lost an engine (that wasn't already lost before I got it.)

It’s a good engine design. It was down to qualify control back then. The ones when they had bad runs and were built to poor specs or had faulty parts are long gone and the good ones remain and that’s why they have that reputation now.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It’s a good engine design. It was down to qualify control back then. The ones when they had bad runs and were built to poor specs or had faulty parts are long gone and the good ones remain and that’s why they have that reputation now.

The specs weren't poor and remained pretty much the same throughout - it's the control over things in the processes. I can take bearings, pistons, rings, any many other parts and the specs will be the same, things interchange, but the process of making some of the things........... There were sensor issues in some years, the electronics could be problematic. They did change throttle bodies, fuel rails (I have a later fuel rail on mine), other changes to fuel system - regulation, pumping, that sort of thing.
I can take a head that fits a 94 and put it on a 2004 (or a 258 for that matter)

 

[NC_Overland]

The specs weren't poor and remained pretty much the same throughout - it's the control over things in the processes. I can take bearings, pistons, rings, any many other parts and the specs will be the same, things interchange, but the process of making some of the things........... There were sensor issues in some years, the electronics could be problematic. They did change throttle bodies, fuel rails (I have a later fuel rail on mine), other changes to fuel system - regulation, pumping, that sort of thing.
I can take a head that fits a 94 and put it on a 2004 (or a 258 for that matter)

I’m trying to remember what happened with mine, it was catastrophic failure. Loudest bang ever. I remember the #4 piston was grenaded. There was such a long back order on the 4.0s That they tried to rebuild it, but it was FUBAR.

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